Managing Workplace Stress

The facts of workplace stress are terrifying for businesses: in the average organisation ten percent of employees report very low levels of satisfaction with their jobs and three percent of turnover may be lost. Yet while stress may be endemic to business, it is not inevitable. The facts of workplace stress can be terrifying for businesses large and small: it's likely that 10% of your workforce report very low levels of satisfaction with both their jobs and the organisation. 20% of your staff will report they have suffered some major life event in the past 3 months and approximately 3% will report levels of mental ill health that are worse than those of psychiatric outpatients receiving clinical treatment for anxiety and depression. 3% of annual turnover may be lost, and this is just the direct costs. Stress may be widespread through the workforce but it isn't inevitable. The purpose of this book is twofold. To break down the ignorance barrier and then to put forward workable solutions for managing stress at work. The authors provide an effective framework on which to build appropriate interventions. But this book does not put forward merely reactive measures. It also gives a proactive template for dealing with stress before issues come to a head, helping provide you with a happy, healthy, determined workforce ready to take on the challenges of the modern business environment. The internationally applicable approach of this book provides an essential stress debrief for line managers and senior executives, as well as stress and workplace healthcare professionals and consultants. The facts of workplace stress are terrifying for businesses: in the average organisation ten percent of employees report very low levels of satisfaction with their jobs and three percent of turnover may be lost. Yet while stress may be endemic to business, it is not inevitable. Breaking through barriers of ignorance to promote happy and productive workforces, Steve Williams and Lesley Cooper provide a framework for building appropriate interventions along with a proactive template for dealing with stress before issues come to a head. Full of examples and workable solutions, this internationally-oriented book offers a wealth of sound advice and an essential stress debrief.

This book is focussed at those who are working or are about to enter the workplace. According to the book, workplace may be defined as "any environment enabling work to be done". This broader definition will make the workplace include any situation or place where people interact to exchange knowledge and information. The book discusses the various anxiety and stress inducing events that one faces in the workplace and the ways to cope with them, using Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and Cognitive Therapy (CT). These techniques are the most widely used psychotherapeutic techniques and their effectiveness has been tested scientifically throughout the world. The book attempts to show as to how Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (umbrella term for CT and REBT) can be used to challenge and overcome workplace stress issues such as criticism, abuse, animosity, conflicts, disagreements, insubordination, organisational politics, favouritism, prejudices, discriminations, job uncertainties, extreme work pressures, excessive workloads, poor job designs, job mismatches, role conflicts, role ambiguities, cultural and ethical maladjustments, workplace boredom and anger problems by realistically and accurately interpreting events at the workplace. It includes plenty of real-life stress producing scenarios as examples and specific techniques to challenge them. Moreover, it tries to analyze and solve workplace stress issues in a very lucid, simple and direct manner so that it appeals to and is understood by a wide range of people. The book is based on research and studies in the area of internal marketing, psychological counselling and workplace stress, and is the product of years of surveys and professional interactions in the industry and the academia.